Anguis Loquentium
by BlackBlood1872
Summary: They say traits run in the family. Harry never imaged this one would [previously titled Denial, now a series]
1. Denial

_Denial  
Summary: It'd been the connection and nothing else. There was no way. He couldn't speak Parseltongue, and that was that  
Category: Harry Potter  
Genre: General/  
Rating: K?  
Characters: Harry P._

* * *

It was a mental thing that held Harry Potter together. Mental denial.

He told himself that it was the Horcrux in his scar that gave him the ability. And that with the Horcrux gone... so was the Parseltongue. It had to be. Harry knew that the ability was passed down through the genes and he knew that neither of his parents were Parselmouths. No one, on either side of his family, was related to Slytherin, so the ability must have come from the scar. Which was gone.

It had to be gone.

So he did his best to avoid snakes; he couldn't allow for a chance to prove himself wrong. Deep down, he knew there was a possibility and he couldn't face that. He couldn't let himself overhear their conversations, lest he still understand them. He just... couldn't.

And he did a good job of it. Nineteen years. He was able to avoid it all for nineteen years, even though he lived in the countryside with Ginny and his family and he _knew_ there were snakes in the garden. And now he was sending off his second child, little Albus Severus, and he was still safe. Because he wasn't a Parselmouth, not anymore (_not ever, __not __legitimately_) and that was good. Perfect.

Then he saw the Malfoys.

Scorpius Malfoy was going in for his first year, Harry knew. He and Draco didn't get together as often as Harry and the Weasley's did, but they met occasionally. They'd been able to move past their school days, the war putting their petty rivalry into perspective. Draco had told him the last time they met up that he only bought the best for his son. Harry knew that the boy had gotten two pets – a regulation owl... and a snake.

Why they had to end up standing near the family, Harry honestly didn't know. He also didn't know why Draco had to see him and wave him over. Didn't the man know any better?

But he went along with it, saying, "I'll be right back, Gin," before heading over, trying not to look as nervous and frightened as he was on the inside.

Because there was a snake and if it talked, there was no escaping any more.

It'd been a nice nineteen years...

"Good morning!" Harry greeted, taking Draco's extended hand to shake. He nodded at Astoria, smiling at her, trying to show how nervous he was being here. She had been the one to notice his nerves whenever he knew a snake was near and, since she'd been at Hogwarts during the Basilisk scare, she knew how much he was trying to forget. The look he gave her now was a plea to keep this meeting as short as he could. She seemed to understand, nodding back and stepping away from the men. She had a certain smile on her face though and Harry was wary.

"Likewise," Draco returned and smirked as his eyes drifted to his son. Harry's heart plummeted. It'd been planned, he realized. Planned out so that Harry was exposed to one of those creatures, a thing so like Draco to do, so _Slytherin_, he wondered why he didn't automatically know.

"Have you met my son yet?" the blond asked, pulling said boy over gently by his shoulder.

"No," Harry admitted slowly, dread welling up inside, "This must be Scorpius, then," and he let his gaze shift, taking in the smaller form.

Scorpius was much like a carbon copy of his father; blond hair, silver eyes, and that same Malfoy stance even though he was fidgeting. It was almost unnerving. But what was even more alarming, to Harry at least, given all his effort, was the small silvery snake hanging around his shoulders, tongue flicking towards him.

Harry tried not to run screaming. It was hard to stop himself.

"Hello," the boy muttered, grey eyes nervous. Well, it was to be expected; he was talking to Harry Potter, savior of Wizarding Britain. Harry smiled at him, and was almost able to forget the stupid animal. But it had to greet him too.

_"Hello!"_ the voice was small – male, but childish. He must have been just a snakelet; bred specifically for the Malfoy heir, knowing Draco. It's tongue flicked out again, head swaying at him in what he thought might have been a snake version of a wave.

Harry tried not to flinch away, but he didn't think he succeeded.

"Potter?" Draco's eyes narrowed, looking between his worried son and the slightly trembling Harry. "Are you okay?" the words, small and almost emotionless, seemed hard for Draco to spit out, but he did it and it brought Harry back to himself.

He forced his gaze away from the snake and gave Draco a small, wavering smile, "Fine," he lied, then his voice took a sarcastic lithe, "my world just fell in on itself, no big deal."

Draco blinked at him, then his eyes widened slightly in comprehension. And then he smirked, the bastard. Harry glared at him.

"What?" Scorpius asked, lips pressed into a thin line. Harry looked back at him, glare relaxing, and shook his head.

"I've just... I guess I avoided it as long as I could," he mumbled, which didn't give anything of an answer to the boy, but Harry ignored him. Instead, he turned back to the snake, who was watching everything with a curious air, _"Hello to you too."_

The snake looked stunned, as well as his owner, and Draco sounded like he was choking his laughter down at the sight of his son's astonished face. _"You speak!"_ the snake gasped, jaw closed to hanging open. Harry chuckled. _"I've never met a Speaker!"_ the snake continued, sounding about as in awe as most of his fans, who he avoided just about as much as he had snakes.

_"We're a rarity. There's not many outside of Slytherin's line, and even then, there's only a few in Britain,"_ Harry explained, giving a small smile. Scorpius was fidgeting and Harry turned the smile to him as well. This seemed to be just enough motivation for the boy to speak.

"What?" Scorpius asked again, voice raising an octave. Draco lost his battle with himself and started to chortle, hidden by his hand. "What was that!"

"That, little Scorpion," Harry chuckled out, ignoring the boy's glare, "was Parseltongue. I was speaking with..." he paused, then turned to the little snake, _"What's your name?"_

_"Sacha,"_ the snake mumbled, embarrassed. _"It means 'defender',"_ he explained. Harry smiled.

_"I think it suits you. You'll grow into it, don't worry,"_ Harry said, the snake looking hopeful. Harry looked back at Scorpius, who was looking between the two with interest. "I was talking with Sacha."

"Sacha?" the boy whispered, uncertain. The snake looked up at the mention of his name, tongue flicking out. The smaller blond smiled at it.

"Harry!" someone called, making the man jump. Looking back, he saw Gin waving at him, looking worried. Harry smiled and waved back, to calm her nerves for now, then bade the Malfoys farewell. Draco managed to wave at him between bouts of laughter, Astoria grinning at him.

Harry made his way back to his own family, where Gin immediately pulled him into a hug. Moments later she pulled back, worrying her bottom lip. Albus was gone, probably on the train by now, and Lily was staring at them, confused by her mothers actions. Harry had to admit he was with the girl on that one.

"You were gone a while," Gin tried to use as an excuse, eyes darting to the blonds and back. Harry grinned at her, shaking his head.

"It's fine. Just..." he swallowed, smile toning down, "I guess I couldn't run from it forever," he mumbled, running a hand through his hair.

"Run from what?" Gin was watching him, just as confused as her daughter now.

"Remember second year? Or, your first, I guess?" when she nodded, he grinned again, "It wasn't because of the connection that I could Speak."

She looked confused for a second; the wording was purposely confusing so not to attract attention. She gaped at him after the dots connected.

"Yeah," he nodded severely. He turned back to the blonds, though it was only the adults now, the boy finally on the train, and sighed. "Sacha wanted to talk a bit," he said, smirking at them. Lily frowned at him, completely out of the circle. Gin was only slightly better, lips twitching as if she couldn't decide whether to smile or frown.

"Sacha?"

"Scorpius' pet snake," he shrugged nonchalantly, grinning at his daughters face. The girl was wide eyed as well now. Harry nodded to himself. "Which reminds me that I should get a familiar,"

Gin looked at him a moment longer, and only the sharp whistle from the train seemed to snap her out of it. She shook her head, joining her family in waving as the Hogwarts Express pulled out.

As they were leaving, Lily clamped onto Harry's arm, brown eyes shining. "Could you teach me?" she whispered, careful to not let Gin hear her. She didn't know what her mother would think, but given her pale face, she thought it wouldn't be good. Harry blinked at her.

"Well, it's genetic, so if you have it, you can use it. Otherwise..." he shrugged, dodging around a still family as he headed for the Apparition point. "It's not something you can learn, as far as I know. When I first spoke it, I didn't know I was saying anything but English. Now, I can hear the slight difference. Parseltongue has more of a hiss to it than English." He'd never talked about this before, either because there was no one else who understood, or who didn't fear it, or he was trying to ignore the very existence of it. Now, though...

"It's in the blood, though, right? So I might have it?" Lily was excited and Harry really didn't know why.

"You might," he commented, "but maybe not. I don't know where I got my ability from. Slytherin was the most famous Parselmouth, so everyone seems to be traced back to him, and I don't know if I am too, or what happened..." He sighed, "We'll just have to see. Pit you against a snake, or something."

She still looked excited, though, which Harry guessed was good, but who knew. Her acceptance of the ability was lifting his spirits, so he guessed it was.

"Hang on," he instructed, entering the Apparition point. Gin nodded at him, then was gone back to their home. Lily's grip on his arm tightened and he twisted.

They landed in a heap – all pieces intact, thankfully – with Gin laughing at his side and Lily trying not to. He still didn't have much of a landing ability. At least it wasn't the Floo, he thought with a grimace as he pulled himself and his daughter up. At least with Apparition, he managed to land _upright_.

At least Draco always got a good laugh whenever Harry came over. Even if the landings were decidedly painful.

The trio headed through the yard up to their home, Lily practically bouncing. Harry smiled in response to her massive grin, trying to warm himself up to the idea of her being a Parselmouth as well. Surprisingly, it helped ease the panic he was still feeling. If Lily was still able to smile like that after everything, maybe he could live with this after all.

He'd be sure to leave Ginny out of any future activities involving snakes, though. Harry knew what it was like to have old wounds. Regardless of that, he was going to find a way to rehabilitate her so she could actually look at things like snakes and diaries. He'd try to ease her into the idea of being in hearing range when he was speaking Parseltongue. Maybe it would even work.

* * *

_edited 2.9.2015  
_

_A/N: So I decided to just make this a set, since there really are too many ficlets in my head to have them separate. I edited this a bit, some grammar fixes and word changes, but not much. Read To Keep a Secret too, ja? That's a bit of explanation for why Harry still has Parseltongue. Also my go-to fic for any other 'Harry's still a Parselmouth' stories. _


	2. Express Time

_Express Time  
Summary: The Hogwarts Express travels for roughly 7 hours. A lot can happen during that time, including the start of an unlikely friendship. AU, Next Gen, semi-sequel to Denial  
Category: Harry Potter  
Genre: Friendship  
Rating: K+  
Characters: Scorpius M., Albus S. P., Rose W._

* * *

Scorpius was being thoughtful. That was never a good sign.

The blond strolled through the train, looking out for an empty compartment. Or, that's what it looked like to any other wanderers. In reality, he was searching for one cart in particular.

After passing by another compartment filled with five teens – third years, he guessed – he sighed. Where were they? A Weasley, at least, shouldn't be hard to miss.

Just as that thought crossed his mind, an explosion went off in the cart next to him. Chuckling, he ducked over, peeking through the window in the door. Sure enough, the two people he was searching for were sitting with a smoking table between them.

Surely they'd know that playing Exploding Snap on a moving train wasn't a good idea?

Swallowing and suddenly feeling more nervous than a Malfoy had any right to be, he knocked on the door, sliding it open slightly to poke his head in.

"May I sit with you?" he asked tentatively. The Weasley girl, who had been laughing and looking a lot like a girl, scowled at him, reminding him immediately of her father. He winced, pulling his eyes from her to look pleadingly at Potter.

Potter looked just like his father, with the only difference being his lack of glasses. They looked at each other for a long moment, then Potter sighed, nodding to Weasley.

"Let him in. I mean, look how pitiful he looks!" the boy grinned, ignoring Scorpius' affronted glare. Weasley pressed her lips thinner, then nodded sharply, jumping over to Potters side of the compartment. Scorpius smiled hesitantly at her, taking the empty side.

The silence hurt.

Scorpius coughed, biting his lip while he tried to think of something to say. Potter noticed his dilemma and spoke first, "Hey. I'm Albus." The Malfoy smiled in thanks, which Albus returned with a shrug.

"Nice to meet you. I'm Scorpius."

Weasley snorted from her spot, arms crossed over her chest. "Nice name," she sneered. Scorpius scowled at her. Before he could comment back, Albus smacked her arm. "Ow!" she turned her glare on him. "What was that for?"

"Be nice, Rose," he scolded, turning in time to catch Scorpius' smile. The brunet nodded at him, "What House do you think you'll be in?" he asked, trying again for a conversation. Though, Scorpius thought as he watched Rose frown even more, a different topic would have been better.

Scorpius shrugged, "I'm not too sure. Father obviously wants me in Slytherin but... I'm not sure," he shook his head. "What about you?"

Albus bit at his lip, eyes on his hands as he wrung them together, "I don't know either. Gryffindor, maybe. That's where the rest of my family was..." He turned to Weasley, trying to pull her into the conversation as well.

She sighed, hand running over her face. "I'll be a Gryffindor. I know that much," she glared at Scorpius, who ignored it. She scowled again. "Gryffindor is the best House," she declared loudly, trying to rile him up.

Albus lifted his gaze to the other boy. "From what I've heard of it, I don't want to be in Slytherin," he said quietly, wincing.

"Slytherin is for all the evil ones," Weasley agreed, grinning like a shark. Scorpius glared at her, leaning forward so that his arms were crossed and resting on his knees.

"There's nothing wrong with any of the Houses," he argued. "Slytherin is for the cunning and ambitious, Hufflepuff is for the loyal, Ravenclaw is for the studious and Gryffindor is for the courageous and brave," the Malfoy recited, trying not to sound as pompous as his father had when he'd told him this. Of course, the man had said more, preaching about the greatness of Slytherin, but Scorpius wanted to find out that for himself. He had his own brain, after all.

Weasley scoffed, waving a hand at him, "You don't believe that. I know you're a Slytherin, through and through," she sneered at him. Scorpius wondered if she'd actually look pretty if she was being nice.

"I don't know. I might be a Ravenclaw," he allowed, leaning back and looking out the window, "or even a Gryffindor. I can't see myself being a Hufflepuff, though."

They lapsed into silence, with only the clunking of the train as background sound. The country side sped by, flashes of green and beige, trees and plain. They were approaching a river when Albus spoke up quietly, changing the subject. He didn't want the two of them to start a fight.

"...I saw you talking to my dad before we left."

"Oh, yeah. Father called him over, don't know why," the Malfoy shrugged. He wasn't going to tell them that Father liked to lord things over the elder Potter, nor that he'd been on the sidelines of a particularly odd conversation. He kept Sacha out of sight, the little snake managing to hide in his pocket. Scorpius didn't think they'd react well to the snakes' presence.

"I think they might have been friends at one point," Albus said, thinking back, "or rivals who became friends. I don't really know. I did see my dad floo over to your manor once and he _never_ uses the floo to go anywhere if he can help it. He's horrible at it."

"He did get my father to laugh," Scorpius admitted, blinking his eyes thoughtfully. He'd seen a few of those floo arrivals. His father had laughed every time.

A weird choking noise, completely inelegant, sounded from Albus' left. The two boys looked over and Scorpius saw Weasley staring at him with wide eyes. "Seriously?" Rose gasped. At Scorpius' nod, she shook her head slowly, as if in a daze. "Who would have thought... a _Malfoy_..."

"Hey," Scorpius objected, lips thin, "not all of us are evil sticks in the mud."

And he said it with a pretty straight face, too. That's probably what made the compartment erupt with laughter. Scorpius cracked a grin before he joined them.

After she'd calmed down, Weasley reached over and clapped his shoulder, eyes bright. "You know... you're not that bad."

Scorpius huffed, but grinned at her. "Neither are you."

Albus reached for the cards still laying on the table in the compartment. He shook one of them at Scorpius, causing it to smoke, and grinned. "You up for a game?"

"On a moving train?" Scorpius inquired, eyebrow raised. But he was starting to grin and he leaned over the table as Albus dealt out three hands.

When the trolley lady visited their compartment, the room was full of smoke and three mad, grinning eleven year olds.

* * *

By the time the Express rolled into Hogsmeade, the three preteens couldn't be bothered to care which family they came from. Scorpius had won only two of the many games they'd played and his hair was singed from the explosions. Rose was laughing at him, trying to say something about haircuts between breaths. Albus was grinning so wide that Scorpius could make out the remnants of the chocolate they'd eaten in his teeth.

Scorpius himself was very glad he'd been able to find them on the train. He had a feeling his life was going to become a lot more exciting with these two in it.

* * *

_A/N: Oops, this is really short? But I don't know what else to add to it, since it was only supposed to be about the train ride and start of friendship. -conflicted noises-_


	3. In The Blood

_In The Blood  
Summary: Some magic is passed down through the bloodlines. You only need to discover it. Continuation of Denial  
Rating: K  
Characters: Harry P. + Lily L. P._

* * *

Harry and Lily Potter left the house early the morning of September second, 2017. The air was crisp but still warm enough that they didn't need anything more than a cloak to last them til the sun rose higher. Ginny watched them leave, standing in the door but moving no further. She'd let Harry handle this one, she thought with a faint shudder, since it was in his range of expertise.

She sighed from where she stood, leaving the door frame to head back inside. She hadn't wanted anything to do with snakes since her horrifying first year at Hogwarts, and she didn't want to be around when her husband got to talking with them. While the two of them were well out of earshot, she could still see them. Ginny would rather not see the snake they were going to practice with.

When the Potters had returned to their home the day before, Harry had promised that he'd see if his ability had been passed down or not. Lily had been excited at first, but as the day grew to a close, she started to feel anxious; all the comments about Slytherins that her cousins had told her making her fearful. Talking to snakes was supposed to be a Dark ability; it'd been what Voldemort was known for, other than his ruthlessness.

But if her father – the Boy-Who-Lived; the great Harry Potter – was able to speak Parseltongue, than it couldn't be that dark of an ability. It even seemed useful; it was a way for them to talk without anyone knowing what was said.

And what was so bad about snakes, anyway, Lily thought peevishly. They got all the bad reputation. How were they any worse than spiders, which can kill you with a bite just as well? Snakes just got the short end of the stick, in her opinion. The Dark wizards had always been associated with snakes; but maybe that was just because all the Dark Lords had come from Slytherin house...

Lily sighed, trailing close behind her father as they walked. Harry fidgeted with his hands, gloves rubbing together to make quiet scratching sounds.

"Okay, to start with..." Harry hummed under his breath, pushing away his fears, which he was willing to admit had grown far too much over the years. "Let's... see if we have one nearby..."

Little Lily looked up from her spot beside her father, eyeing him with mild disdain. "Can't you just summon one? Isn't there a spell?"

Her father blinked, then grinned sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck. It was a gesture he used often; mostly whenever Ginny yelled at him for his more stupid antics. "Ah, well... I hadn't thought of that..." he mumbled, looking away from Lily. She huffed, trying to imitate her Mum's disapproving face.

"Obviously," she muttered back, lips twisting against her control into a smile.

Harry clapped his hands, grinning widely at her. "Well, let's get to it," then, he pulled out his wand and pointed it towards the grass in front of them. They had managed to walk a fair distance from the house and now stood in the middle of the yard in an open area. Harry hoped that, if the snake ever decided to attack, this set up would give it the least amount of surprise. He had a broom, shrunken and in his pocket, if Lily needed the escape. Swallowing, he swished his wand and said, "_Serpensortia._"

A snake burst from the end of his Holly wand, landing in a heap a few feet away from them. It rose up, hissing madly, swaying as it stared at the two. Lily took a half-step back, if only because the nine year old had never been this close to a snake before. Never mind that she didn't know if this one, a dark grey, almost black, four foot long one, was venomous or not. She liked to think that Harry would be able to fend it off if it wanted to attack her.

_"Hello,"_ Harry hissed experimentally, titling his head to get both his daughter and the viper in his sight. His face stayed blank as he stared down at the snake, who was still swaying, as if it couldn't decide if it wanted to strike or not. _"You are not to harm Lily,"_ he ordered, just in case.

The viper turned to stare at him, visibly wilting under his glare. _"Yes, Master..."_ it – she – hissed quietly, head titled down in what Harry recognized as a submissive pose.

Lily looked frozen beside him, staring wide eyed at the viper and when he turned to look at her fully, she stepped closer to him, almost hiding in his robes. She knew he couldn't see it, but her lips were starting to curl upwards.

"Lily?" he whispered, uncertain if she was well, or understood any of that, or what. He reached down, carding a hand through her hair as he waited for her to respond.

The viper raised her head back up to watch them, tongue flicking out every once in a while to read the air. Harry ignored her for now, gently prodding Lily in the shoulder to get her to look up. She did, eyes wide, but not with fear. Harry smirked down at her, eyes dancing with equal excitement.

Lily's face split into a large grin. "I could _understand_ you!" she whispered in awe. Harry chuckled at her, ruffling her hair. She didn't seem to notice.

"Is that so?" She nodded quickly, eyes snapping back to the viper. She gulped, face dimming again. Harry kept his arm around her shoulder, squeezing to reassure her. "Don't worry; she won't attack," he turned to the snake, raising an eyebrow, _"Will you?"_

The snake swayed in a way that looked like she was shaking her head, eyes trained on the girl. Harry led them forward, even though Lily was still a bit nervous, so that they could crouch in front of her. Harry reaching out, lightly brushing the viper's head, causing her to knock her head into his hand, making an odd hissing noise that might have been the snake equivalent of a purr.

Lily giggled.

_"Why don't you say something to her, Lil?"_ Harry suggested softly, still petting the snake – what a weird action that was – and still speaking Parseltongue, though he barely noticed. Lily stared at him, wide eyed again, and he didn't know if it was because of the suggestion or because of the language.

"Oh-okay," she stuttered, brown eyes snapping back to the serpent, who was looking between the two humans now. The viper tilted her head towards Harry before Lily could think of anything to say.

_"She is your hatchling?" _she hissed, tongue tasting... something. Probably their scents, Harry mused, since they would be similar enough to warrant the question. He bowed his head as an affirmative, but was cut off from saying anything when Lily spoke.

_"What's your name?"_ her voice was rushed, and she looked at her father to see if she'd managed it or not. She couldn't _tell_; it all just sounded the same as English. Harry nodded, smiled blooming. It was still weird to hear another human speaking Parseltongue, since the only other one Harry remembered was Voldemort. But he hid that away, letting his girl shine.

The viper, for some reason, looked surprised. Harry couldn't tell, personally, if it was because Lily was a Speaker, as he'd been termed in the past, or if it was because she'd asked at all. _"My name is Thesa, hatchling Lily,"_ she said, bobbing her head in a bow. Lily grinned.

The two talked for a few more minutes, Harry blissfully forgotten in the background, before a call from the house reminded them of the time. They'd left that morning rather early, on Lily's insistence, with only a little bit of something to eat beforehand. Now, it was nearing ten o'clock, and, at the mention of food, Lily's stomach rumbled. The girl blushed, arms wrapping around herself as she chuckled weakly.

Harry shook his head at her, grinning, and raised his wand again, preparing to banish the snake when Lily jumped up. "Don't!"

Harry blinked at her, but obediently tucked away the instrument. "Why not?"

Lily chewed her lip, eyes darting between Thesa and him. Pulling up her best puppy-eyes that won everything, hands down, she pleaded, "Can't we keep her? I mean, we knew her so well and–"

Harry smiled and rolled his eyes. "Of course we can. Anyway, you need a familiar. Thesa would be perfect for that."

Lily whooped, jumping over to the viper, who obediently slithered up her arm to rest on Lily's shoulders. The snake, while hesitant at first, seemed to lose that shy nature, and was talking adamantly to the girl as the three of them made their way back to the house. Harry joined the conversation after a particularly interesting point, stating his own opinion of snake assisted Parselmagic. If Thesa was this knowledgeable about the subject, it was a good thing that they were keeping her around. He knew Lily would love to learn everything she could from the snake.

When they reached the kitchen proper, Ginny nearly died at the sight of the three of them hissing excitedly at each other. Harry didn't have the heart to stop.


End file.
